Keenan Wynn
Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade. Though he rarely had a lead role, he had prominent billing in most of his film and television roles.
Early life
Wynn was born on July 27, 1916, in New York City, the son of vaudeville comedian Ed Wynn and his wife, the former Hilda Keenan. He took his stage name from his maternal grandfather, Frank Keenan, one of the first Broadway actors to star in Hollywood. His father was Jewish and his mother was of Irish Catholic background. Ed Wynn encouraged his son to become an actor, and to join The Lambs Club, which he did in 1937.
Career
Theatre and radio
Wynn began his career as a stage actor. He appeared in several plays on Broadway, including Remember the Day, Black Widow, Hitch Your Wagon, The Star Wagon, One for the Money, Two for the Show, and The More the Merrier.
Wynn starred in the radio show The Amazing Mr. Smith on Mutual Broadcasting System from April 7 to June 30, 1941. He played the title role, "a carefree young man who runs into trouble galore and becomes an involuntary detective".
Film and television
Wynn appeared in hundreds of films and television series between 1934 and 1986. He was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player during the 1940s and 1950s. He had a brief role as a belligerent, unsympathetic drunk in the wartime romance The Clock. Arguably his most dynamic performance was a small role in The Hucksters with Clark Gable. His early postwar credits include The Three Musketeers, playing D'Artagnan's servant; Annie Get Your Gun ; Royal Wedding ; Kiss Me, Kate ; The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit ; The Absent-Minded Professor ; The Americanization of Emily and Dr. Strangelove.
The Wynns, father and son, both appeared in the original 1956 Playhouse 90 television production of Rod Serling's Requiem for a Heavyweight. The son was returning the favor: according to radio historian Elizabeth McLeod, Keenan had helped his father overcome professional collapse, a harrowing divorce, and a nervous breakdown to return to work a decade earlier, and now helped convince Serling and producer Martin Manulis that the elder Wynn should play the wistful trainer. Both he and his father also appeared in a subsequent television drama called The Man in the Funny Suit, which detailed the problems they had experienced while working on that series. In it, the Wynns, Serling, and many of the cast and crew played themselves. Keenan also featured in another Rod Serling production, a Twilight Zone episode entitled "A World of His Own", as playwright Gregory West, who uniquely caused series creator Serling to disappear from the screen.
On January 18, 1959, Wynn starred in S. J. Perelman's Hollywood satire, "Malice in Wonderland", broadcast on NBC's prestigious Sunday afternoon anthology series Omnibus.
Wynn took a dramatic turn as Yost in the crime drama Point Blank with Lee Marvin. He had a leading role in the third Beach Party movie, Bikini Beach, as a scheming newspaper publisher who wants to banish the local young people. Later he played Hezakiah in the comedy film The Great Race. He was the voice of the Winter Warlock in Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and appeared in several Disney Company|Disney] films, including Snowball Express, Herbie Rides Again and The Shaggy D.A. . He appeared as villainous businessman Alonzo Hawk in three Disney films: The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, and Herbie Rides Again.
He appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's musical Finian's Rainbow, Sergio Leone's epic western Once Upon a Time in the West, and Robert Altman's Nashville. During this time, his guest television roles included Alias Smith and Jones, Emergency!, Movin' On and The Bionic Woman. Wynn appeared in ten episodes of Dallas during the 1979–1980 season, playing former Ewing family partner-turned-enemy Digger Barnes. David Wayne, a friend of Wynn's, had played Digger Barnes in 1978 but was unable to continue because of his co-starring role on the CBS series House Calls, starring Wayne Rogers.
Wynn was initially cast in Superman as Perry White in April 1977. In June, Wynn collapsed from exhaustion and was rushed to a hospital. He was replaced by Jackie Cooper.
He played Charles Picker Dobbs on a 1982 episode of The Love Boat. In 1983, he guest-starred in one of the last episodes of Taxi and Quincy, M.E. In 1984, he starred in the television film Call to Glory, which later became a weekly series.
Wynn was married to former stage actress Eve Lynn Abbott until their divorce in 1947, whereupon Abbott married actor Van Johnson, one of the couple's closest friends. Abbott contended her marriage to Wynn was a happy one, but that her divorce and remarriage were engineered by MGM studio boss Louis B. Mayer, who refused to renew Wynn's contract unless Abbott divorced him and married Johnson, who was the subject of rumors that he was homosexual. One son, actor and writer Ned Wynn, wrote the autobiographical memoir We Will Always Live In Beverly Hills. His other son, Tracy Keenan Wynn, is a screenwriter whose credits include The Longest Yard and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. His daughter Hilda was married to Paul Williams. He was an uncle by marriage to the Hudson Brothers. His granddaughter is actress Jessica Keenan Wynn.
In his later years, Wynn undertook a number of philanthropic endeavors and supported several charity groups. He was a long-standing active member of the Westwood Sertoma service club, in West Los Angeles.
Death
During his last years, Wynn suffered from pancreatic cancer, which caused his death on October 14, 1986. He was cremated at Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park in its crematory. His urn was subsequently entombed within The Great Mausoleum, Daffodil Corridor, Columbarium of the Dawn, in a niche alongside his father Ed Wynn, his daughter Emily, who died from lupus, and his aunt.
Filmography
Film
Somewhere I'll Find You as Sergeant Tom Purdy The War Against Mrs. Hadley as Voice of Radio Announcer For Me and My Gal as Eddie Milton Northwest Rangers as 'Slip' O'MaraLost Angel as Packy RoostSee Here, Private Hargrove as Private MulvehillSince You Went Away as Lieutenant SolomonMarriage Is a Private Affair as Major Bob WiltonWithout Love as Quentin LaddThe Clock as The DrunkBetween Two Women as TobeyZiegfeld Follies as Caller Week-End at the Waldorf as Oliver WebsonWhat Next, Corporal Hargrove? as Private Thomas MulvehillEasy to Wed as Warren HaggertyThe Thrill of Brazil as Steve FarraughNo Leave, No Love as SlinkyThe Cockeyed Miracle as Ben GriggsThe Hucksters as Buddy HareSong of the Thin Man as Clarence 'Clinker' KrauseB.F.'s Daughter as Martin Delwyn AinsleyThe Three Musketeers as PlanchetMy Dear Secretary as Ronnie HastingsNeptune's Daughter as Joe BackettThat Midnight Kiss as Artie Geoffrey GlensonAnnie Get Your Gun as Charlie DavenportLove That Brute as Bugsy WelchThree Little Words as Charlie KopeRoyal Wedding as Irving Klinger / Edgar KlingerKind Lady as Edwards' ButlerTexas Carnival as Dan SabinasAngels in the Outfield as Fred BaylesIt's a Big Country as Michael FisherPhone Call from a Stranger as Eddie HokeThe Belle of New York as Max FerrisSkirts Ahoy! as Himself Holiday for Sinners as Joe PiaviFearless Fagan as Sergeant Kellwin – Company JDesperate Search as BrandySky Full of Moon as AlBattle Circus as Sergeant Orvil StattCode Two as Police Sergeant Jumbo CuldaneKiss Me Kate as LippyAll the Brothers Were Valiant as SilvaThe Long, Long Trailer as PolicemanTennessee Champ as Willy WurbleMen of the Fighting Lady as Lieutenant Commander Ted DodsonThe Glass Slipper as KovinThe Marauders as HookRunning Wild as Ken OsangerShack Out on 101 as GeorgeThe Man in the Gray Flannel Suit as Sergeant Caesar GardellaThe Naked Hills as Sam WilkinsJohnny Concho as Barney ClarkThe Great Man as Sid MooreJoe Butterfly as Harold HathawayThe Fuzzy Pink Nightgown as DandyDon't Go Near the Water as Gordon RipwellThe Deep Six as Lieutenant Commander Mike EdgeTouch of Evil as Bartender A Time to Love and a Time to Die as ReuterThe Perfect Furlough as Harvey FranklinThat Kind of Woman as Harry CorwinA Hole in the Head as Jerry MarksThe Crowded Sky as Nick HylandThe Absent-Minded Professor as Alonzo P. HawkThe Joke and the Valley as Lambert GilesThe Big Bankroll as Tom FowlerIl re di Poggioreale as Di GennaroThe Power and the Glory as Wine MerchantSon of Flubber as Alonzo P. HawkThe Bay of St Michel as Nick RawlingsMan in the Middle as Lieutenant Charles WinstonDr. Strangelove as Colonel Bat GuanoHoneymoon Hotel as Mr. SampsonStage to Thunder Rock as Ross SawyerThe Patsy as Harry SilverBikini Beach as Harvey Huntington HoneywagonThe Americanization of Emily as Old SailorNightmare in the Sun as Junk DealerThe Great Race as Hezekiah SturdyPromise Her Anything as Angelo CarelliThe Night of the Grizzly as Jed CurryStagecoach as Luke PlummerAround the World Under the Sea as Hank StahlWarning Shot as Sergeant Ed MussoWelcome to Hard Times as ZarThe War Wagon as Wes FletcherPoint Blank as YostRun Like a Thief as Willy GoreFrame Up as Inspector DonaldThe Longest Hunt as Major Charlie DoneghanFinian's Rainbow as Senator Billboard RawkinsOnce Upon a Time in the West as Sheriff, AuctioneerThe Magic Pear Tree as Marquis Mackenna's Gold as SanchezSmith! as Vince HeberThe Monitors as The General80 Steps to Jonah as Barney GloverViva Max! as General LacomberHouse on Greenapple Road as Sergeant Charles WilentzLoving as EdwardFive Savage Men as Pudge ElliottSanta Claus Is Comin' to Town as The Winter Warlock Assault on the Wayne as Orville KellyPretty Maids All in a Row as PoldaskiCannon as EddieThe Man with Icy Eyes as Harry DavisTerror in the Sky as MiltonThe Manipulator as Old CharliePanhandle 38 as Billy Bronson / Kile RichardsWild in the Sky as General Harry GobohareAssignment: Munich as GeorgeCancel My Reservation as Sheriff 'Houndtooth' RileyThe Mechanic as Harry McKenna Snowball Express as Martin RidgewayVD Attack Plan as Contagion Corps Sergeant Hijack! as Donny McDonaldHerbie Rides Again as Alonzo A. HawkThe Internecine Project as E.J. FarnsworthThe Legend of Earl Durand as Colonel NightingaleHit Lady as Buddy McCormackPopcorn Target Risk as Simon CusackHe Is My Brother as Brother DaltonNashville as Mr. GreenThe Man Who Would Not Die as Victor SlidellThe Devil's Rain as Sheriff OwensA Woman for All Men as Walter McCoyThe Lindbergh Kidnapping Case as Fred Huisache20 Shades of Pink The Quest as H. H. SmallJeremiah of Jacob's Neck as Jeremiah StarbuckHigh Velocity as Mr. AndersenThe Killer Inside Me as Chester ConwayThe Shaggy D.A. as John SladeThe Quest: The Longest Drive as CoolerMission to Glory: A True Story Orca as NovakSex and the Married Woman as Uncle JuneLaserblast as Colonel FarleyCoach as Fenton "F. R." GrangerThe Bastard as Johnny MalcolmPiranha as JackThe Lucifer Complex as U.S. Secretary of Defense / Adolph Hitler?The Billion Dollar Threat as ElyThe Dark as Sherman "Sherm" MossHollywood Knight as JedSunburn as Mark ElmesParts: The Clonus Horror as Jake NobleThe Glove as Bill SchwartzThe Treasure Seekers as Meat Cleaver StewartA Touch of the Sun as General SpelvinJust Tell Me What You Want as Seymour BergerMom, the Wolfman and Me as Grandpa BergmanThe Monkey Mission as Stump HarrisA Piano for Mrs. Cimino as Barney FellmanThe Capture of Grizzly Adams as Bert WoolmanThe Last Unicorn as Captain Cully / Harpy Best Friends as Tom BabsonHysterical as FishermanReturn of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. as Piers CastillianWavelength as DanPrime Risk as Dr. LasserThe Goonies as Chester CopperpotCode of Vengeance as WillisMirrors as Reverend DahlstromZoo Ship Black Moon Rising as Iron JohnHyper Sapien: People from Another Star as Grandpa
Television
Alfred Hitchcock Presents as William BotibolWagon Train – Episode: "The Luke O'Malley Story" as Luke O'MalleyThe Untouchables as Augie 'The Banker' Ciamino / Joe FuselliThe Twilight Zone – Episode: "A World of His Own" as Gregory WestThe Troubleshooters as KodiakAlfred Hitchcock Presents as Joe FerliniRawhide – Episode: "Incident at Cactus Wells" as Simon RoyceCombat! – Episode: "The Prisoner" as Colonel ClydeBen Casey – Episode: "Behold a Pale Horse" as O.J. StanleyDeath Valley Days – Episode: "Grass Man" as Josh TaversBonanza – Episode: "Alias Joe Cartwright" as Sergeant O'RourkeCombat! – Episode: "The Flying Machine" as Lt. BrannaganThe Wild Wild West – Episode: "The Night of the Freebooters" as Thorwald WolfeGomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. – Episode: "Show Me the Way to Go Home" as Harry PurcellThen Came Bronson – Episode: "The Old Motorcycle Fiasco" as AlexLancer – Episode: "Blue Skies for Willie Sharpe" as Kansas Bill SharpeAlias Smith and Jones as Artie Gorman / Horace Wingate / Charlie UtleyMod Squad – Episode: "And a Little Child Shall Bleed Them" as LutherHawaii Five-O – Episode: "Journey Out of Limbo" as HummelCannon – Episode: "The Island Caper" as Matt DixonAlias Smith and Jones – Episode: "What Happened at the XST?" as Artie GormanMcMillan & Wife – Episode: "The Devil You Say" as Professor ZagmeyerHec Ramsey – Episode: "A Hard Road to Vengeance" as BullardThe New Perry Mason – Episode: "The Case of the Telltale Trunk" as Victor HardingThe Girl With Something Extra – Episode: "Guess Who's Feeding the Pigeons" as Victor LucasKolchak: The Night Stalker as Captain Joe 'Mad Dog' SiskaMovin' On – Episode: "The Elephant Story" as BarnabyEmergency! – Episode: "Back-Up" as Wild BillThe Bob Newhart Show – Episode: "What's It All About, Albert?" as Dr. AlbertThe Bionic Woman – Episode: "Rancho Outcast" as GustaveDallas – 10 episodes as Digger BarnesThe Littlest Hobo - Episode: "The Balloonist" as Gus Appleton Fantasy Island – Episode: "Mr. Nobody/La Liberatora" as Willie the promoterOne Day at a Time – Episode: "Small Wonder II as Randolph EricsonThe Greatest American Hero – Episode: "Good Samaritan" as Ira HagertHardcastle and McCormick – Episode: "Just Another Round of That Old Song" as Henry WillardQuincy, M.E. – Episode: "Whatever Happened to Morris Perlmutter?" as Morris PerlmutterManimal – Episode: "Scrimshaw" as Clancy Sea Dog MorganTaxi – Episode: "Tony's Baby" as LeoTales from the Darkside – Episode: "I'll Give You a Million" as DuncanHighway to Heaven – Episode: "Popcorn, Peanuts and CrackerJacks" as Doc BrisbyCall to Glory as Carl SarnacThe Last Precinct as ButchThe Fall Guy - Episode: "War On Wheels" as Sam Travers